Lecturers to urge minister to reject top-up fees

LECTURERS from colleges and new universities in Wales will urge Welsh Assembly education minister, Jane Davidson, to express clear opposition to top-up fees when she visits a conference in Cardiff on Saturday.

LECTURERS from colleges and new universities in Wales will urge Welsh Assembly education minister, Jane Davidson, to express clear opposition to top-up fees when she visits a conference in Cardiff on Saturday.

Natfhe (Wales), the Welsh wing of the university and college lecturers' union, will be hosting its second annual conference, Investing in Learning - Investing in Staff, at the Thistle Hotel in Cardiff.

Lecturers will discuss the distinctive issues facing Welsh post-16 education and how best to influence education policy.

Jane Davidson, Assembly Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning, will address the conference. Lecturers' leaders say they are looking forward to the minister's views on top-up fees and on progress on pay parity with school teachers for lecturers across Wales.

Natfhe General Secretary, Paul Mackney, who will speak at the conference, said, "Natfhe in England watches developments in Wales with great interest.

"The Assembly is making a positive difference for students and education staff. We welcome its willingness to listen to the voice of practitioners at the sharp end of delivering the Assembly's access and learning agenda.

"The Assembly has not yet declared its long-term position regarding top-up fees, which would have severe implications for students in Wales - and for the future of Welsh higher education. I hope the minister will reject top-up fees in Wales and urge Welsh MPs to reject them in the remaining stages of the Higher Education Bill."

Natfhe Welsh official, Margaret Phelan, said, "This conference is a sign of Natfhe's growing confidence and maturity in Wales, where the further and higher education agenda is increasingly diverging from that in England.

"The Assembly plays a key role in funding decisions and policy making for further and higher education. Natfhe, as a major stakeholder in this sector, is an advocate for high quality education for students and professional pay and conditions for staff."